S. Walker's Hotel

Walker's, S., Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	11705 US-12, Cambridge Township, Michigan
Coordinates	42°3′32″N 84°13′18″W
Area	2.2 acres (0.89 ha)
Built	1853 (1853)
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	07000381
Added to NRHP	May 2, 2007

S. Walker's Hotel is a former hotel/tavern located at 11705 US-12 in Cambridge Township, Michigan. It wa listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

History

Sylvester and Lucy Walker were married in New Berlin, New York in 1816. By the mid-1830s they had moved to Cooperstown, New York where they ran the Union Hall hotel. In about 1838 they moved to Michigan and likely leased the inn and tavern located across the road from this site from the owner, Calvin Snell. At the time, traffic along what was then called the Chicago Road was increasing, as it was the primary route between Detroit and Chicago. In 1842, the Walkers purchased the tavern, renaming it the Walker Tavern. The Walker Tavern still stands. The Walkers continued to run the older, frame tavern until 1853. However, in that year, Walker augmented his business by beginning construction on a new brick hotel at the present site.

The new building was completed in late 1852, and had a separate dining room and taproom on the first floor, guest rooms on the second floor, and a ballroom on the third floor. The Walkers continued to own both the frame Walker Tavern and the new hotel until 1863. Although traffic along the Chicago Road was decreasing due to the construction of railroad lines through southern Michigan, the Walkers likely kept in business through the taproom catering to local residents. In 1859, Walker sold the hotel to Silas Giles of Detroit, but remained living in the hotel until his death in 1868.

Silas Giles sold the hotel to William Graves and George Curtis in 1863, who in turn sold it to Lyman Nearing later that same year. Lyman Nearing was born in 1817 inLafayette, New York and moved to Michigan just before purchasing the hotel. In 1864, he married Jane Turner, and the couple moved into the hotel. In 1865, they changed the name to the Nearing House, and owned and managed the establishment until 1887, when the mortgage was foreclosed and he lost the hotel. Walker B. Sherman purchased the hotel at the sheriff's sale, and after his death in 1892 it was sold to Edwin B. Culver. The hotel was sold again in 1898 to Frank Fitzgerald, and in 1900 to George Burton. Burton owned and managed the hotel until 1922, but with mixed success.

In 1922, Frederick Hewitt purchased the property. Hewitt was born in England in 1876, and emigrated to Canada in 1891. He eventually received a degree in theology from Huron College in 1899, and took a position at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Detroit, staying until 1905. Over the next decade, he took positions at various churches throughout Michigan. Hewitt was charismatic and a skilled orator, and made numerous friends; among them were Alex J. Groesbeck, who went on to become governor of Michigan, and auto magnate Henry Ford.

In the early 1920s, Hewitt's interests began to turn toward antiques. He was familiar with the Irish Hills area, having served a stint at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Tecumseh. In 1920 he purchased a cottage at Evans Lake and opened an antiques shop, and in 1922 purchased both the wooden Walker Tavern and Walker's Hotel. He refurbished the hotel, and continued to rent out rooms and run a restaurant on the premises, but he also added an antique shop to the building. In 1926, Chicago Road had been paved, drawing an influx of tourists, and Hewitt realized that the antiques business was a sufficient money-maker. He ceased providing means and rooms, and turned to antiques full-time. Here his influential friends paid off, as both Alox Groesbeck and Henry Ford visited the antique store on a regular basis, with the latter purchasing many items for his Greenfield Village museum.